fix(extended translucency): apply extra data and implicit alpha

[ArcEarth]

• nif setting should ignore SkinnedMeshOnly
• meshes with lightingShaderProperty.alpha < 1 have implicit alpha and should not be ignored for easy testing
  Also clarified the cpu code for translating nif setting into descriptor

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Refactor

  • Improved clarity and maintainability of translucency effect logic and condition checks.
  • Enhanced enum values and documentation for material model settings.
  • Separated CPU/GPU shared settings from CPU-only settings for better modularity.

• New Features

  • Added a dynamic mod link for easier access to feature information.

• Style

  • Updated UI labels and tooltips for alpha modes to be more descriptive and consistent.
  • Revised terminology from "rim light" to "rim edge" throughout the interface.

• Bug Fixes

  • Adjusted transparency slider to use integer minimum for improved usability.

• Chores

  • Restoring default settings now explicitly enables the "Skinned Only" option.
  • Simplified settings load/save by handling entire settings struct directly.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The ExtendedTranslucency feature received a refactor to clarify the logic in BSLightingShader_SetupGeometry, especially around property checks and feature descriptor handling. Enum values and UI strings were updated for clarity and consistency. The header was reorganized: new static constants and methods were added, enum semantics were clarified, and string view usage was standardized.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Change Summary
Shader Geometry Refactor & UI Clarification src/Features/ExtendedTranslucency.cpp	Refactored geometry setup logic for clarity; improved property checks for translucency; encapsulated feature descriptor logic in a lambda; updated UI labels, tooltips, and slider bounds; revised feature summary text; updated serialization to use Settings including SkinnedOnly.
Header Reorganization & Enum Semantics src/Features/ExtendedTranslucency.h	Added static MOD_ID and GetFeatureModLink() method; clarified and expanded MaterialModel enum with new values and removed ForceDisabled; renamed MaterialParams to PerFrame and introduced nested Settings struct with CPU-only fields; updated method declarations and string view usage; removed inline helpers and relocated GetFeatureSummary.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
    participant Caller
    participant ExtendedTranslucency
    participant Geometry
    participant AlphaProperty
    participant LightingShaderProperty

    Caller->>ExtendedTranslucency: BSLightingShader_SetupGeometry(pass)
    ExtendedTranslucency->>Geometry: Retrieve AlphaProperty and LightingShaderProperty
    alt AlphaProperty with blending enabled OR LightingShaderProperty alpha < 0.999
        ExtendedTranslucency->>ExtendedTranslucency: SetFeatureDescriptor via lambda
        alt ExtraData exists and valid
            ExtendedTranslucency->>ExtendedTranslucency: Remap material model and set descriptor
        else No ExtraData or invalid
            ExtendedTranslucency->>ExtendedTranslucency: Use SkinnedOnly/global defaults
        end
    else
        ExtendedTranslucency->>Caller: Return early (skip effect)
    end

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Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~18 minutes

Possibly related issues

• Per-material settings from Nif #1218: This PR directly refactors and clarifies the code originally implemented in this issue.
• PERFORMANCE: Caching the feature descriptor in map<RE::BSGeometry*, uint> if this get more complex... #1219: Shares modifications to BSLightingShader_SetupGeometry and settings handling, with this PR extending the logic and structure.
• Support more material model like glasses or arcylic #1220: The enum changes in this PR directly address and evolve the enum handling described in this issue.

Possibly related PRs

• fix(extended translucency): fix default material model not applied #1305: Builds on the SkinnedOnly logic and default material model handling refined in this PR.
• perf(extended translucency): enable only on alpha blended materials #1249: Modifies the same geometry setup logic and enum, with this PR representing a further evolution.
• chore: add nexusmod links #1137: Introduces the same MOD_ID and GetFeatureModLink() pattern for feature structs.

Suggested reviewers

• ArcEarth
• alandtse

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[github-actions]

Using provided base ref: e39f8cc
Using base ref: e39f8cc
Base commit date: 2025-08-03T17:49:27-07:00 (Sunday, August 03, 2025 05:49 PM)
No actionable suggestions for changed features.

[ArcEarth]

For testing:
The stellar blade suit, it was not affected by this effect even with the nif extra data, now fixed.
https://mega.nz/folder/ejgGjYZS#h9WXWAJGWYNrAQQDQHo7pw/file/Du5ziIKQ

[github-actions]

✅ A pre-release build is available for this PR:
Download

[alandtse]

Note Todos will be assigned to you. So determine if you want this or not.

[alandtse]

Please explain what you meant by "not working" so we can update the title.

[ArcEarth]

There are 2 case the extra data and the effect not working:

1. Static mesh with nif extra data setting, but user have Skinned Mesh Only toggled in the setting. That setting should only governs if the Default Material Model being applied. Any NIF mesh marked with extra data should have been tested by mod author and always safe to apply the effect.
2. Meshes with Alpha in its Nif lighting shader properties are ignored because they may not have a explicit AlphaBlend property.

[alandtse]

@coderabbitai please suggest an appropriate commit title based off the description of the issues fixed within our length requirements.

[coderabbitai]

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🧩 Analysis chain

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
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git log --oneline -20 --format="%s"

Length of output: 0

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#!/bin/bash
# Check if we're in a git repository and get basic info
pwd
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git status
git log --oneline -10

Length of output: 513

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#!/bin/bash
# Try different ways to get commit history
git log --pretty=format:"%s" -10
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git log origin/main --pretty=format:"%s" -10 2>/dev/null || echo "Could not get origin/main"

Length of output: 29

---

@alandtse Based on ArcEarth's description of the two issues fixed, I suggest this commit title:

fix(extended translucency): honor nif extra data and implicit alpha

This captures both key fixes:

1. The feature now honors nif extra data regardless of the "Skinned Mesh Only" setting
2. It now properly handles meshes with implicit alpha (lightingShaderProperty.alpha < 1)

The title is concise at 60 characters and follows the conventional commit format already used in the current title. It's more descriptive than the current title which only mentions "extra data 'AnisotropicAlphaMaterial'" without explaining what was actually fixed.

Alternative shorter version if length is a concern:

fix(extended translucency): honor extra data and implicit alpha

---

🧠 Learnings used

Learnt from: alandtse
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-07-05T05:20:45.823Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders repository, file deletion error handling improvements that replace existence checks and try-catch blocks with std::filesystem::remove error-code-based approaches are considered bug fixes rather than refactoring, as they address inadequate error handling and misleading log messages.

---

Learnt from: jiayev
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-07-18T15:21:03.641Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders rendering pipeline, materials with alpha < 1 or alpha blending enabled are rendered in non-deferred mode rather than deferred mode. This means issues with dynamic cubemaps on transparent materials are actually non-deferred rendering issues.

---

Learnt from: ThePagi
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#1369
File: package/Shaders/Lighting.hlsl:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-08-05T17:40:44.796Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders repository, ultra trees (object LOD trees) are detected using a compound shader define condition `defined(DO_ALPHA_TEST) && defined(LOD_BLENDING) && defined(RIM_LIGHTING) && defined(SOFT_LIGHTING)` because "they have no define" according to the comment. The `ExtraFlags::IsTree` flag is used for different tree handling (AO removal in skylighting) and may not apply to ultra trees specifically. Before replacing the compound condition with `IsTree`, verification is needed to ensure the flag covers ultra trees.

---

Learnt from: alandtse
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-06-24T07:17:36.604Z
Learning: When reviewing PRs, always clarify the scope if there are multiple related features or dependencies. WeatherPicker was a separate PR that was already merged, while this PR focuses specifically on WetnessEffects climate preset system enhancements.

---

Learnt from: jiayev
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-08-03T18:37:19.690Z
Learning: ISReflectionsRayTracing.hlsl and ISWorldMap.hlsl in the skyrim-community-shaders repository are image-space post-processing shaders that perform color sampling and blending operations that need proper linear color space handling for the linear lighting system. ISReflectionsRayTracing handles screen-space reflections and should use conditional Color::IrradianceToLinear/Gamma conversions similar to ISCompositeLensFlareVolumetricLighting.hlsl. ISWorldMap performs 7x7 color accumulation that should be done in linear space similar to the pattern used in ISSAOComposite.hlsl.

---

Learnt from: alandtse
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-06-29T00:27:42.717Z
Learning: When reviewing PRs, the committer's description should inform analysis of changes and may take precedence to conclusions when reasonable, but the choice of commit type should still be independently evaluated for compliance with conventional commits. Both committer intent and conventional commit standards should be considered to determine if the classification is defensible.

---

Learnt from: ThePagi
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#1369
File: src/Features/SnowCover.cpp:277-293
Timestamp: 2025-08-05T18:22:40.542Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders SnowCover feature, the wstrtostr and strtowstr utility functions defined in src/Features/SnowCover.cpp are unused and should be removed rather than fixed, as confirmed by the original author ThePagi.

---

Learnt from: ThePagi
PR: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders#1369
File: src/Features/SnowCover.cpp:260-260
Timestamp: 2025-08-05T18:13:03.077Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders SnowCover feature, the time calculation uses division by 61.0 instead of 60.0 for seconds conversion in the perFrame.Month calculation. The original author ThePagi indicated this was intentional and makes no discernible difference to the snow cover functionality, suggesting it may be related to game-specific timing mechanics or balance considerations.